Relationship Economics: Transform Your Most Valuable Business Contacts Into Personal and Professional Success [Hardcover]

David Nour (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2008

"If a man is judged by the company he keeps, David Nour's Relationship Economics provides a systematic approach to building value in that judgment. The concepts reach well beyond networking to building lasting and productive relationships."
—Dennis Sadlowski, President and CEO, Siemens Energy and Automation, Inc.

"Relationship Economics is so much more than networking-it's a systematic approach to building and nurturing relationships to get things done."
—William L. Koleszar, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Citizens Financial Group/Royal Bank of Scotland

"Social capital is essential for success, and Relationship Economics provides an approach to enhancing its value."
—Terry C. Blum, Director, Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship, Georgia Tech College of Management

"In the airline industry-or any industry for that matter-strategic relationships are instrumental to your success to drive profitable, long-term growth. David Nour has captured that essence in Relationship Economics."
—Randy Martinez, Col. USAF (Ret.) and former CEO, World Air Holdings, Inc.

"In Relationship Economics, David Nour highlights very timely concepts and successfully points out that with today's technology and global knowledge, we are able to formulate personal, functional, and strategic relationships essential to our success."
—Peter M. Sontag, Chairman, Orthopedic Development Corporation

"Forget cold calling. It's still about who you know, and Relationship Economics paves the fastest and most disciplined process for building a world-class portfolio of quantifiable and strategic business relationships."
—Greg Alexander, CEO, Sales Benchmark Index, and author of Making the Number and coauthor of Topgrading for Sales

"The Relationship Economics principles are critical to business, cultural, and diplomatic success. Look at any successful businessperson-they have done an outstanding job of managing their relationships, consistently over a long period of time."
—Ken Stewart, Commissioner - Economic Development, State of Georgia

"A fantastic read. Constantly weaving great ideas with practical applications. You'll never look at business relationships the same way again."
—Rick Frishman, founder, Planned Television Arts, and Publisher, Morgan James Publishing

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

What's the most valuable asset you or your business possesses? Is it your physical resources? Your intellectual properties? Your workforce? Your skills and knowledge?

All are important aspects of business success. But you can't get the most advantage from any one of them if you don't make the right strategic investments in your relationships. Relationship Economics takes a unique and strategic view of business relationships as a platform for long-term business growth and success. This goes far beyond simplistic "networking" or the exchange of business cards. Thinking strategically about business relationships is a proven way to move your business or career forward.

Based on interviews with more than 1,000 managers, directors, and executives from a wide range of companies, Relationship Economics reveals that success comes from investing in people for extraordinary returns. It introduces new concepts in relationship management, including the exchange of Relationship Currency, the accumulation of Reputation Capital, and the building of Professional Net Worth. These are the fundamental qualities and measures of busi-ness relationships, and once you understand them, you'll be able to turn your contacts into better execution, performance, and results.

Many of us are so busy we forget to take the time to build and nurture the key relationships that lead to long-term success. Relationship Economics turns business relationships into quantifiable variables based on proven concepts from the fields of business development and process optimization. You'll learn to develop the three major types of relationships—personal, functional, and strategic—and how to gain the most opportunity and value from each.

Relationship Economics isn't about taking advantage of friends or coworkers to get ahead. It's about building and maximizing relationships for a better career and a better life. In business and in life, nothing is more important than the company you keep.

From the Back Cover

"If a man is judged by the company he keeps, David Nour's Relationship Economics provides a systematic approach to building value in that judgment. The concepts reach well beyond networking to building lasting and productive relationships."
—Dennis Sadlowski, President and CEO, Siemens Energy and Automation, Inc.

"Relationship Economics is so much more than networking—it's a systematic approach to building and nurturing relationships to get things done."
—William L. Koleszar, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Citizens Financial Group/ Royal Bank of Scotland

"Social capital is essential for success, and Relationship Economics provides an approach to enhancing its value."
—Terry C. Blum, Director, Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship, Georgia Tech College of Management

"In the airline industry—or any industry for that matter—strategic relationships are instrumental to your success to drive profitable, long-term growth. David Nour has captured that essence in Relationship Economics."
—Randy Martinez, Col. USAF (Ret.) and former CEO, World Air Holdings, Inc.

"In Relationship Economics, David Nour highlights very timely concepts and successfully points out that with today's technology and global knowledge, we are able to formulate personal, functional, and strategic relationships essential to our success."
—Peter M. Sontag, Chairman, Orthopedic Development Corporation

"Forget cold calling. It's still about who you know, and Relationship Economics paves the fastest and most disciplined process for building a world-class portfolio of quantifiable and strategic business relationships."
—Greg Alexander, CEO, Sales Benchmark Index, and author of Making the Number and coauthor of Topgrading for Sales

"The Relationship Economics principles are critical to business, cultural, and diplomatic success. Look at any successful businessperson—they have done an outstanding job of managing their relationships, consistently over a long period of time."
—Ken Stewart, Commissioner – Economic Development, State of Georgia

"A fantastic read. Constantly weaving great ideas with practical applications. You'll never look at business relationships the same way again."
—Rick Frishman, founder, Planned Television Arts, and Publisher, Morgan James Publishing

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470289600
• ISBN-13: 978-0470289600
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #353,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Nour - CEO, The Nour Group, Inc.
Senior Management Advisor | International Speaker | Best Selling Author

David Nour is a social enterprise strategist and the thought leader on Relationship Economics® - the quantifiable value of business relationships. In a global economy that is becoming increasingly disconnected, The Nour Group, Inc. has attracted consulting clients such as KPMG, Gen Re, HP, and over 100 marquee organizations in driving unprecedented growth through unique return on their strategic relationships. David has pioneered the phenomenon that relationships are the greatest off balance sheet asset any organization possesses, large and small, public and private.

He annually delivers 50 global keynotes at leading industry association conferences, corporate meetings, and academic forums. He is often a guest lecturer at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and Georgia Tech's College of Management. His unique perspective and independent insights on Relationship Economics® have been featured in a variety of prominent blogs and publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, FastCompany, Knowledge@Wharton, Associations Now, Entrepreneur and Success magazine.

He is the author of several books including the best selling Relationship Economics (Wiley), ConnectAbility (McGraw-Hill), The Entrepreneur's Guide to Raising Capital (Praeger) and the newly released Return on Impact: Leadership Strategies for the Age of Connected Relationships (ASAE, 2012).

An Eagle Scout himself, David is passionate about youth with his foundation's support of the Centennial Scouting movement, Junior Achievement, One Voice - aiming to create peace in the Middle East, and the High Tech Ministries.

A native of Iran, David came to the U.S. with a suitcase, $100, limited family ties and no fluency in English! He earned an Executive MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and a BA degree in Management from Georgia State University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the time and the money, February 10, 2011

By 

Curt - See all my reviews

This review is from: Relationship Economics: Transform Your Most Valuable Business Contacts into Personal and Professional Success (Audible Audio Edition)

I just finished listening to this book (3.5 hours) and found it to have both big ideas and practical advise that could be applied immediately. As soon as I finished it, I restarted it again from the beginning. Because of the audio format, I obviously wasn't able to do the exercises at the end of each section while driving to work.

I'm looking forward to applying some of David's concepts at work to help my team grow.

David - Thanks for the Insight!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bend Time, February 1, 2009

By 

Greg Alexander (Atlanta, GA.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Relationship Economics: Transform Your Most Valuable Business Contacts Into Personal and Professional Success (Hardcover)

Time is the ultimate commodity. We all wish we had another hour in the day, right? You might be wondering, "Who has the time to read another business book?" Well, this is the only book I have read recently that saved me time. By putting to use David's recommendations, my "time to successful outcome" has been cut in half.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Road Map for Effective Business Relationships, October 31, 2008

By 

Amanda Setili "Setili & Associates, LLC" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Relationship Economics: Transform Your Most Valuable Business Contacts Into Personal and Professional Success (Hardcover)

David Nour is an unequaled expert on how to build effective business relationships. Relationship Economics offers insightful tips and robust methodologies for building relationships to strengthen your business.

Business is becoming more global and technology is displacing many interactions that formerly took place face to face, yet relationships are more important than ever. Trust is the foundation of any relationship, and David shows us how to build it in the most sincere and mutually beneficial way.

Unlike many books that focus on building relationships to "get the sale," Nour has a much broader scope. He looks both at relationships within organizations and those that reach externally. He shows how relationships help you to make better decisions, to be more innovative, and to accomplish more.

Drawing from diverse examples, he gives us a road map for making relationships more strategic, fruitful and fulfilling.